Bitcoin Price Soars Past $1400 and Into the $1500 Range

Many bitcoiners have been celebrating the spring months of April and May, as the past few weeks has seen all-time price highs for bitcoin. Cryptocurrency proponents were quite pleased when BTC’s fiat value rose above the $1400 mark and were subsequently surprised when $1500 came quickly after. At press time the price per BTC had reached $1547 after dipping into the $1490s several times.

Weekly View

Short term technical indicators and order books show there is substantial resistance above the $1500 range at the time of writing. However, the 100 Simple Moving Average (SMA) is still maintaining well above the longer term 200 SMA showing the bull market engines are still at full throttle. Although the Relative Strength Index and Stochastic indicators show we may be in overbought territory and things could get choppy. Nevertheless, bitcoin volume is strong capturing roughly $300-500 million per day this week as the decentralized cryptocurrency now commands a $24.2 billion market.

Bitcoin In the News

No one knows the primary reason why bitcoin’s price is rising so fast. There could be various things to consider that are attributing to bitcoin’s soaring market value. Mainstream media has put out a few articles highlighting bitcoin’s increase in value which could be enticing investor interest. Countries like India, Japan, and China have continued to show significant demand as global interest in bitcoin stemming from many regions has been at an all-time high.

Furthermore many governments in areas such as Mexico, India, and other countries look as though they may legalize and regulate the digital currency. The approval from worldwide leaders may be giving bitcoin markets positive reinforcement, a far different approach than their warnings in the past. Overall the fact of the matter is it’s hard not to notice bitcoin’s performance and adoption growth over the previous year. High prices, positive news, and global interest continues to bring more users into the world of cryptocurrency for various reasons.

Bitcoin price lifetime chart. Bitstamp BTC/USD 5/03/17

Celebrating Record Highs as Japanese Trading Volume Continues to Surge

As usual bitcoin community members are thrilled to see the decentralized currency do so well. People have been celebrating all over social media with tweets, price ticker pictures, and their favorite bitcoin memes. Overall the past twenty-four hours has been exciting as the trading day began in the low $1440s.

The heaviest trading region has been Japan as the country has captured a majority of the global trade volume. According to CNBC, the Japanese exchange Bitflyer is seeing massive demand. This is also followed by strong trading volumes stemming from the U.S. and China as well.

Bear Scenario: The price of $1500 per BTC is a highly psychological mark, and it will take time to find ground above this range. According to order books across various global exchanges and depth charts, there’s strong support between the $1400-1450 territory. There’s sure to be plenty of volatile action for intra-range moves and day traders looking for quick dips.

Bull Scenario: At press time bitcoin is wiping off the sweat from breaking $1500 and trying to hold its position. If buyers keep up the action and bitcoin breaks current resistance the path to $1600 could very well be achieved. Bulls are controlling the market and keeping the momentum going on the upside. The question is — How much longer can they keep it up?

What do you think about the price of bitcoin breaking $1500? Where do you see the price going from here? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclaimer: Bitcoin price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.”

Images via Bitcoin.com and Bitcoin Wisdom Bitstamp BTC/USD markets.

At News.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published.

Jamie Redman is a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open source code, and decentralized applications. Redman has written hundreds of articles about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

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